Mohammad Shami bowled exceptionally well in the ODI series opener against New Zealand to script a thumping eight-wicket victory for India in Napier on Wednesday (January 23).
Shami removed both the Kiwi openers – Martin Guptill (5) and Colin Munro (8) – cheaply to make the early inroads and then dismissed Mitchell Santner (14) in the second spell. Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also claimed four wickets as India eventually bundled out the hosts for 157 in 38 overs.
Riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 75 and Virat Kohli’s 45, the visitors chased down the total in just 34.5 overs.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony after being adjudged Man-of-the-Match, Shami credited captain Kohli, the team management and the BCCI for his successful return to the ODI fold.
"Coming back from injury, we have good facilities provided to us. It changed things for me a bit. It was big blow. For the next 18 months I was in rehab. I trained really hard and when I came into the team, everyone backed me, the management, the captain and so I was able to push my limits, keep getting fitter and fitter," Shami quoted.
With the dismissal of Guptill, Shami also became the fastest Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in One-day Internationals. Shami achieved the landmark in his 56th ODI while Irfan Pathan had accomplished the same in 59 matches.
Talking about his performance in this match, Shami said: "Success boils down to the hard work by the team on the whole. And we always have plans for players. Plan A, Plan B. We can go from one to the next.
"Slight changes in conditions. Grounds are bigger in Australia. Looking at the last series we played here, it was important to figure out where to bowl her depending on those dimensions," he added.
Shami has been in terrific form ever since he made a comeback in the ODI team in Australia earlier this month. He was the fourth most successful bowler Down Under, bagging 5 wickets in 3 matches, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8), Jhy Richardson (6) and Yuzvendra Chahal (6).
The second ODI will be played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Saturday (January 26).
